Bishop Barron delivers a presbyteral ordination homily reflecting on 40 years of priesthood
Bishop Robert Barron's 2026 ordination homily for three new priests, offering four lessons drawn from four decades of priestly life.
Summary
Marking his own 40 years as a priest, the bishop structures his ordination homily around four lessons — one per decade — drawn from personal experience and the mentors who shaped him. The homily moves from the practical to the mystical, culminating in the central exhortation that all four lessons ultimately point toward the same thing: staying close to Christ. A recurring theme is the tension between personal ambition and obedience, illustrated by his own account of surrendering a coveted academic career at Cardinal George's direction — a decision he credits with opening the entire trajectory of his subsequent ministry.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Bishop Barron: One of the greatest gifts that Christ gives his Church is priests. From priests come the Eucharist, and from the Eucharist comes the Church. And so it's a very special day of celebration — not just for these three great young men, but for all of us today.
First of all, let me thank everyone for being here. It's a wonderful celebration for the whole diocese, but a very special thank you to Colin and Adam and Riley's families. The gift that you're making to the Church today is extraordinary. Blessings to you for all that you've done to prepare these young men for this great day. God bless you for that. It's great seeing everybody — the whole diocese really represented here.
Forty Years of Priesthood
Well, it's hard for me to believe, but last week I celebrated 40 years as a priest. I know older people say this, but it went by in the blink of an eye. I've been reflecting a lot about those 40 years and about the priesthood. About two weeks ago I was doing my holy hour and I asked the Lord — I said, "I've got this ordination coming up. What should I tell these three young guys?" And like that, it came to me: well, you've been at it for 40 years. What have you learned? So I took that as a kind of structure for the homily, and I distilled four lessons — one for each decade. I want to share that now with you guys. You can all listen in too if you want.
Lesson One: Stay Close to Good Mentors
Here's my first recommendation to the three of you: stay close to good mentors in the priesthood. As I reflected on my years, what a blessing it's been — the number of mentors I've had who guided me through the priesthood, especially in my young years as a priest.
I think of Father Larry Kelly, who was my deacon pastor. Larry's the one — I remember I had just arrived and I said, "What do you want me to do?" And he said, "Within the limits of law and morality, whatever you want." It was a wonderful invitation to pastoral creativity.
My first pastor as a priest was a wonderful man, Joe Kenan — a great Chicago priest. Joe was not an academic, not a reader, but he was a kind of pastoral genius. I remember one day he said to me, "Do you know why my homilies are so short?" I said, "No." He said, "Because I'm a lousy homilist. I don't want to impose my lousy homilies on the people." Well, it really wasn't true, but he was certainly a man who knew how to form, in a beautiful way, a Christian community. So Joe was a mentor.
But my greatest mentor when I was a young priest — and really well into my priesthood — was Monsignor Bill Quinn. Another great Chicago priest, ordained in 1940. He was trained by Reynold Hillenbrand, the famous rector of Mundelein Seminary, who shaped a generation of Chicago priests dedicated to liturgy and social justice. And Bill embodied all of that spirit. He knew a number of the civil rights leaders of the '50s and '60s. He was at Vatican II as a liaison between the Latin American and North American Bishops' Conferences. A really interesting man.
Well, I showed up as a 26-year-old newly ordained. He was 70 and newly retired. Some of my favorite memories as a young priest were at the end of the day, going to Bill's room. I would pour out whatever my concerns were, my struggles, my questions. And I can just see him now in this red leather chair, beginning to mentor me — answering my questions, giving me guidance, and then telling stories about his long priestly career.
Bill died in 2004, so I had him for 18 years of my priesthood. During my years studying in France, we used to write letters to each other — remember that, the older folks here, before email? I actually wrote him a letter from Paris and waited for his letter to come back to me. And then many years after I returned, Bill was someone I saw on a regular basis. It was a great privilege of mine to preach at his funeral Mass in 2004.
It's very interesting, in divine providence: Bill died in 2004, and in 2005 Cardinal George invited me to do special work in evangelization and to move in and live with him. I think in God's providence, when one great mentor of mine passed away, another one came. So that's my first recommendation. And I bet some of these mentors are sitting right over there — the ones you guys have already cultivated. Don't let go of them. Stay close to mentors in the priesthood. Indispensable. That's lesson one.
Lesson Two: Stay Close to the Poor
Here's lesson two: stay close to the poor. Remember the story about when Pope Francis was elected, and one of his former cardinal colleagues in the Sistine Chapel took him aside and said, "No te olvides de los pobres" — don't forget the poor. And of course, Francis never did. The Church now, for about 70 years, has been calling us to a preferential option for the poor. I found in the course of my pastoral ministry that lesson is indispensable.
Wherever I send you, or my successors send you, have an instinct for the poor. Naturally, we gravitate toward people who are smart and attractive and interesting and a lot of fun. Of course we're attracted to attractive people. But the priest should have an instinct for those on the margins — those forgotten, those overlooked, those suffering. Always have that, no matter where you're sent, no matter what you're doing. Have a feel for the poor.
There was a great lady in my first parish named Betty Gager. Betty was one of the secretaries — probably about 70 when I was there, retired, very smart, very canny, and she had all of us kind of sized up. She knew all of our comings and goings, our strengths and weaknesses. I had a custom when I was in the parish: every Thursday morning I would go to the hospital — it was called Lutheran General, a big hospital — and I visited all the parishioners who were there. And Friday mornings I would go to what I called my old ladies — the shut-ins. I'd bring communion to them. Well, one day Betty stopped me as I was leaving and said, "Can I just stop you for a second? I really love the fact that you're so faithful to the hospital and to visiting these old ladies. Never forget that in the course of your priesthood." And I never did. As you can tell, I'm telling you that now. It stayed in my heart — that instinct for those who are suffering.
I've said this a few times: look at today. I love the high liturgy of the Church, especially a day like this — pull out all the stops, all the beauty and festivity and color of our liturgy. Beautiful. I love it. But one of my formulas is this, and I'll say it to you guys now: the higher you go liturgically, the lower you should go in service of the poor. That's a beautiful combination. Go back to Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton and Fulton Sheen and so many great figures from the last century — they got that principle. Beauty and service to the poor.
So I'd say, brothers: don't forget the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Don't forget the poor. Staying close to them is essential in your priesthood.
Lesson Three: Stay Close to the Fire
Third principle: stay close to the fire — by which I mean your life of prayer. Part of the ritual today, part of the ordination ceremony, is your commitment to being men of prayer. Not just abstractly, but the Liturgy of the Hours — to pray that faithfully for the rest of your life, on your own behalf but also on behalf of the Church. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.
I can guarantee you, without fear of contradiction, your priesthood is going to be full of wonderful moments, enchanting experiences, times of uplift and excitement — and dark days, and struggles, and times when you feel it's just too much. The ups and downs of a priest's life. Same as that of married people, of course — it's human life. What keeps you focused and centered is prayer. In season and out, when you feel like it and when you don't, when you're in the mood to pray and when you're not, on your best day, on your worst day, when you're busy, when you're on vacation — every day, pray, pray, pray.
It's wonderful that you fellows are being ordained to the priesthood the year that Fulton Sheen is being beatified. Fulton Sheen, the greatest preacher in the American Church — he'll be remembered for that, of course. But I have a feeling that Sheen will be remembered ultimately as the great saint of the holy hour. For decades, Sheen taught the importance of a daily hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. I think that's the teaching of Sheen that has had the biggest impact on the Church. So resolve today, as you're being ordained in the year of his beatification, that you will be dedicated to that prayer.
I said this to a class, I don't know if it was last year or the year before: "All right, it's the end of the day. You haven't finished your office yet." And you say, "Oh, I'm too tired." I want you to see my big Irish face looming up in your mind saying, "Pray the office." It's a lifeline. It's not a burden. It's a lifeline. And of course the rosary, of course devotions, of course the Mass, of course the Eucharist. That's the fire. Stay close to it. When priests go bad, it means they've wandered away from the fire.
Study as Part of the Fire
Prayer is part of it. The second part is study — that's how you stay close to the fire. You'll hear it echoing through this ceremony: that you are teachers, that you are preachers, that you deal with the word of God. And the world is starving for the word of God. The cacophony of voices we hear that are taking us nowhere — what people want, what they're hungry for, is the word of God. You're being ordained to proclaim that word for the rest of your life. Bible in one hand, newspaper in the other — relating the Bible to life and experience. You will not do that well unless you study, unless you immerse yourself daily in the great theological tradition of the Church.
That is not a preoccupation for academics or professors. That's a preoccupation of every ordained person. And my generation had a bit of an excuse, because it was hard to come by theological books — you had to order them and wait weeks, or drive to Chicago to a bookstore. Now, boom, Amazon, two days later it's at your door. No excuse. Read journals, read books, study the great tradition.
Here's the analogy, by the way — this is from Teresa of Ávila. Remember her famous line? If you had to choose between a pious spiritual director or a smart one, what would you choose? She said, "Every day of the week and twice on Sunday, the smart one." You see why? Here's the analogy: if you had to choose between a doctor with a great bedside manner — really nice guy — or a smart doctor, which would you choose? You're doctors of souls. Souls are more important than bodies. Would you trust a doctor who hasn't read a medical journal or medical book since medical school? I wouldn't. Why would someone trust a doctor of souls who hasn't been immersed in the great intellectual tradition of the Church? That's the other part of the fire, gentlemen — prayer and study.
Lesson Four: Stay Close to Your Bishop
Last one: stay close to your bishop. I know this sounds self-serving. I don't mean be buddy-buddy with your bishop — trust me, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, who ordained me, did not come to my rectory and say, "Bob, how are you doing?" I don't mean that. What I mean is something very mystical in our ecclesiology. We do believe that Christ guides us and leads us through our superiors, through our obedience. And you're going to pledge that obedience in a couple of minutes. You're going to put your hands in mine like this. And I must say, since I've been an ordinary and ordaining people, that's a very moving moment for me — and a deeply challenging moment — because I know these young men are, in a way, putting their lives in my hands. You're giving up at that moment your career — by which I mean your plans and your projects. What you're saying is: I trust that through you, Bishop — and trust me, no one knows better than I the flaws and limitations of bishops — but we are somehow a vessel of grace through which Christ works. Stay close to your bishop in that sense.
I'll tell you a quick story from my own life. Cardinal Bernardin ordained me, but then about ten years into my priesthood, Cardinal George became the archbishop, and he and I did have a close relationship. He was a great mentor to me. But at a key moment — I was about 20 years into my priesthood — I had envisioned, from the day I was ordained, a certain path: I'd be in a parish for a while, they'd probably send me for doctoral studies, I'd probably come back and teach at Mundelein Seminary. I saw all that. And then what I envisioned was becoming a professor at a university — Notre Dame or Catholic University — holding a chair of theology. That's what I saw for myself.
Well, it happened. All those things happened. And the moment came when I was offered such a position. I went to Cardinal George — 1555 North State Parkway, the Cardinal's residence in Chicago. I said, "Your Eminence, they've offered me the job." He said, "I know, and you're not taking it." I was flabbergasted. I had fully expected him to say, "Oh yeah, that's great, I'll give you permission." He said, "I don't want that for you. I think there's something else for you." He didn't say, "I have something in mind for you." He said, "I think there's something else for you."
So I had put my hands in the hands of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin and said, "I promise obedience to you and your successors." With great reluctance and great disappointment, I said, "Yes." But what's amazing is that I could have gone into that world of academics — but because he said no, this whole other side of my life opened up. My Word on Fire work, my work with evangelization, my work with the media, becoming a bishop — I never saw any of that coming. But somehow that great "no" that he gave me, which I felt compelled to obey, set me on a path that has been a wonderful path and has opened things up for me in ways I never imagined.
That's the mystery of it, brothers — we surrender to Christ working through the authority of the Church. In that sense, stay close to your bishop.
The Heart of It All
Those are my four recommendations. I'll sum them up this way. In all those ways — through mentors, through the poor, through prayer, through my bishop — what I experienced for 40 years was Christ. Christ speaking in those four ways.
So finally, my word to you on your ordination day is this: stay close to Christ, because now you are bearers of his life to the Church.